MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry

Merseyside's Playbox Games has been signed as an official Nintendo Wii development partner and is currently chasing a deal with another Japanese giant, Capcom.

In-game marketing firm IGA has updated its propriety ad-delivery technology, Radial, saying improvements to the system are a world first for one of the fastest-growing advertising sectors in entertainment.

The makers of acclaimed and upcoming titles by Ubisoft Montreal, Grasshopper, Square Enix ,and many others are preparing to present key sessions at March's Game Developers Conference.

GDC Prime, an exclusive conference targetted at industry leaders, has recently been added to the roster events taking place as part of CMP's week-long Game Developers Conference in March.

The association for developers in the North East, Codeworks GameHorizon, is hosting a games-based talent competition at next month's Animex festival.

EXCLUSIVE Q&A: Scott Novis, boss of Buena Vista Games' Fall Line team discusses why the company set up a Nintendo-exclusive studio and how it plays in Disney's development activity.

Fresh from having been confirmed as an official Nintendo development partner, Italian outfit Twelve Games has backed the Wii saying that producing games for the format is perfect for its small team.

Nintendo's best-selling DS and Wii games machines seem to have sparked a flurry of production and acquisition activity, with Traveller's Tales the latest studio to set-up a format-holder-exclusive team to satisfy publisher demand.

Think again if you think Apple's iPhone could be adopted en masse by mobile games developers - the company has confirmed that the platform will be, like the iPod, a closed platform.

SPECIAL REPORT: Tiga loves it, EA doesn't - MP Shaun Woodward's suggestion that UK studios form an academy for games developers has ignited sector chatter, but opinions clash over the idea's worth.